Last night me and the boys went to sleep at 10pm still not knowing who won the election. Anton wanted to sleep in my bed. I woke up at 3am, checked my phone, and cried. The results were not good. The list is long, especially for women, immigrants and LGBT+ people.
I thought about what to write about in the article today. Picking up people? Action item? A moment of silence? I don’t know what to say. What kind words have you said to your friends and children? Do you see your beautiful face reflected in the mirror?
What gives me hope is remembering who we are. The photo above shows 16 Cup of Jo readers. He is cheerful, caring, funny, and smart. We have another million readers. Another million! We have good men, thoughtful women, smart teenagers, and giggling children all around us, but they’re not going anywhere. And that goodness is added even more. “There is no single answer that will solve all future problems,” writes Octavia E. Butler. “There is no silver bullet. Instead, there are at least thousands of answers. If you want, you can be one of them.”
This election is not the end of the story. Even though this country voted for Trump with such deep, devastating heartbreak, we are still moving forward. Maya Angelou writes: “We may encounter many defeats, but we must not give up. We may need to encounter defeat in order to find out who we are. Oh, it happened, and I got up. I was knocked down in front of the whole world, but I got up. I didn’t run away, I just fell down. I got up from there.”
If you’re feeling overwhelmed today, think about the little things you can do right now, the neighbors you can help, the loved ones you can text. Remember the story about the starfish? After the storm, thousands of starfish were washed up on the beach. A little boy was throwing them back into the water one by one. The old man looked at him and said: You won’t make a real difference. ”The boy picked up the starfish and said, “I have made a difference in this.”
Here’s a to-do list written by illustrator Sophie Lucido Johnson.
As always, sending the biggest hugs and lots of love to anyone who needs a hug. xoxo And if you’d like and can, please help us by donating to organizations that are doing great work. Cup of Jo is donating $5,000 each to two organizations, large and small. One is Ruth’s Refuge, which provides home furnishings and other necessities to refugees, asylum seekers, and asylum seekers in New York City. And the ACLU defends the rights of all people across the country, including reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ rights, prisoners’ rights, voting rights, and more. Hold on, friends. we are all here. Shit
(Quoted from Octavia E. Butler via Colin Fay.)
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